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While the game wasn’t too difficult at times, the chase of being a completionist will certainly have a ton of replay value. The level design is simple but brings a certain difficulty with trying to control a bouncing eye. With a price point of $4.99, you absolutely can’t go wrong with this purchase. For retro platformer fans, this is an absolute must buy. It’s a game you can play for a few hours, or just knock out a few levels. It’s a fun game that can be enjoyed by gamers of all ages. Who knows, maybe after reading this review, the game will really catch your ‘eye’.
Earlier in August, another boat-faring game by the name of Spiritfarer was also released, and which I also reviewed, and if you are going to get one game about boats and oceans this month, get Spiritfarer. In fact, I would have a difficult time recommending Windbound over almost any game, and for almost any reason. In most regards, Windbound struggles to feel like a game at all, instead playing like a demo for a far-from-release Kickstarter project, or the alpha build of a new engine, where game mechanics have only been implemented for testing purposes. This isn't an early access project, but is a full release with an audacious asking price of $29.99 for an adventure that, according to Steam metrics, took me all of 4.3 hours to breeze through. The best part is that it only took me less than five hours to see the ending credits. Oh well, at least Tony Hawk comes out this week. DON'T LET ME DOWN, TONY!
I can't say that Spiritfarer is a game for everybody, or that it's a perfect game, or even that it's MY perfect game, but I can say that it was a surprise just how much I found myself tangled up in the tales of my friends, and how much each one emotionally resonated with me. It made me consider my relationship with my children, and the duties I have as a father to raise, love, teach, and protect them. I considered my aging and elderly grandmother who lives multiple states away and is due for a visit from me. My thoughts wandered to my own mental health, how I care for myself and whether or not I give myself the attention that I need and deserve. Very seldom does a game come along that so precisely taps into my emotions and causes such a state of reflection. It's difficult not to recommend Spiritfarer to anybody at this point, because it is the most special indie game I've played in a long time.
Ghost of Tsushima is a once-in-a-console generation type of game. There aren’t many we could say the same thing about in the same sentence. Red Dead Redemption 2? Sure. The Witcher 3. Absolutely. Breath of the Wild? Yes. But Ghost of Tsushima easily stands amongst the heaviest hitters to release over the course of the last seven years. With plans to expand the game further as we’ve seen in the weeks since release, including a multiplayer component titled Legends arriving later this Fall, Sucker Punch is clearly committed to seeing this new IP thrive and prosper. And that, my friends, brings a huge, cheesy grin to my face.
Hopefully this won’t be the last time we see Battletoads again for another two decades. We as a generation of gamers continue to get older, especially those of us which love this style of game. With time having a finite number on all of us, it’s an amazing feeling when a franchise and game such as this that you have such fond memories of as a child is able to burst back onto the scene in a big way. Even with its slight pacing issues and relative simplistic difficulty, Battletoads is worth your time and attention, especially all of you out there with access to Xbox Game Pass.
If you haven’t played Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout yet, I strongly recommended everyone reading this to watch a Twitch stream or YouTube video. The colors are bright and inviting, the gameplay is easy to grasp, and though I don’t think it will be everybody’s cup of tea, I think that most gamers will find at least SOME fun to be had in the trails of the jelly beans. The team at Mediatonic seem dedicated to this game’s success and support, and there is truly so much potential for this game. I can see myself a year or two from now, having a wardrobe full of unique colors and costumes, playing through as-of-yet unreleased minigames, still trying after that elusive crown, and still laughing each time I get haphazardly tossed to my doom. For me, the asking price is an easy investment to what I envision will be endless hours of fun. At the end of 2020, there will be a lot to look back on. Mostly bad, but some good, and I think Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout will be high on my list of good.
Although the game is short for the fun you’ll have while playing it, it’s worth every penny. I loved the different levels and environments of the game. Even with some things I would personally change. It doesn’t take away the fact that this is a whole heartingly good game. With the cute humor and cute graphics you can play this yourself or your kids could play it too. Because if this game teaches you anything, It’s patience and well... don’t create killer robots to steal a secret formula. All jokes aside this game will always be on my shelf. I enjoyed it and I could see myself picking up this game again, sitting back, and just enjoying my time playing.
Dépanneur Nocturne is only $4.99 on Steam, a measly sum that is worth the price of entry for the handful of hours you can easily spend exploring. There will likely be sales in the future, and I could imagine this being a free game in a future Epic giveaway, but it's always nice to support these small independent studios when I have the opportunity. Dépanneur Nocturne isn't likely to win any year-end awards, but on a Wednesday afternoon in a quiet home, I was happy to be whisked away for a quick diversion from these otherwise hectic times.
It had been 7 years to get the follow up to TLOU and this was absolutely worth the wait. The leaps that Naughty Dog took with the story makes you feel almost every emotion you have ever felt in your life. It was hard to put this game down sometimes because I was always wanting to know what was around the next corner. I am also super impressed that Naughty Dog did so many things to make this game accesibile to anyone that wanted to experience it. I love that we are seeing more and more studios doing this and Naughty Dog knocked it out of the park with their effort. Also, just remember, this is only a game. It’s fine to not like it because you didn't care for the story and such, but to hate it for sexual preferences of certain characters, or other outlandish things, is ridiculous. If you find yourself getting frustrated, you could always go to your closest driving range and work on that short game. Enjoy.
I won’t act like Neon Abyss is a game for everybody, or even for most people. The difficulty scale is much too high for younger gamers or those that get frustrated too easily. The repetitive gameplay loop won’t keep many people interested. Even those that love rogue-likes, especially The Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells, might be put off by the repetitive appearances of their least favorite minibosses. Indeed, I think Neon Abyss would benefit from some DLC that improves upon the variation one might experience from run to run. But, for what it’s worth, and for those that particularly enjoy this type of painful punishment, you’ll find an impressively compelling loop that will keep you returning again and again and again (I even bought a new controller for my PC to help me play a little better). This is a game that deserves to be discussed amongst the best indie games of 2020, and will rank amongst the greats of its genre.
Thankfully, you won't have to buy Streets of Rage 4 for its retail price of $24.99 to enjoy it on PC or Xbox - the game is available on Xbox Game Pass, and for most gamers, that will be enough. Streets of Rage 4 wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better than I expected it to be and set a stage for future beat-em-ups that I hope more developers take cues from. Most surprisingly, Streets of Rage 4 made me want to boot up my NES and SNES, pop in the brutal fight fests of my childhood, and teach my 5-year-old just how hard games used to be.
There is no time like the present to fully invest yourself to the cause, and if you have any reservations about joining the Slayer’s Army, rest assured – this is one of the best, if not THE best, shooter experience you’ve ever laid your hands, eyes, ears, and guts on. Grab your chainsaw. Rip, and tear.
Allow me to be candid for a moment. I work in healthcare and have small children at home. With the fear in the world of CoViD-19 and the surrounding hysteria and panic, these last few weeks have been nothing short of stressful. I’ve had travel plans cancelled, work schedules have been all over the place, and we’ve had some difficulty getting supplies for our home, including fresh food. My family is still in a good place, but the thoughts and worries have been constant clouds in my mind. Ori and the Will of the Wisps has been a welcome escape from these concerns. For a few short bursts of time, I was able to escape the crowded grocery lines and travel through Niwen, full of friendly faces and frightening foes alike, all placed in one of the most beautiful video game worlds to date. The credits rolled for me at just over 10 hours of play, but I expect to get a few more hours reaching towards the 100% marker in the first playthrough alone. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is available on PC and Xbox One via Xbox Game Pass, which runs at such a cheap price that this game should be a no-brainer for most people to play. For me, this is the first high profile release of 2020, and is a near-perfect Chapter One to what looks to be a very promising year.
I will always recommend this game and I already always do. As I said before this game means so much to me and the fact that XSEED brought it back and is even working on Rune Factory 5 is enough to keep a big smile on my face! I think if you were a first time player buying this game online and getting the $39.99 copy would be perfect for you. I personally got the Archive Edition to help support this game and so we can continue to get more Rune Factory games in the future. So thank you XSEED for brining back this loved and underappreciated series!
My spooky investigation of The Suicide of Rachel Foster was overall enjoyable, and being compared at all to some of its obvious influences is a compliment in its own right. Nevertheless, I walked away feeling like the story could’ve had more to give. I spent just over three hours at the Timberline Hotel, which could have been extended some to prevent feeling rushed in the final act. Retailing at $17.99 USD, the money-to-time investment ratio could be fairly compared to purchasing a movie. If story-driven or horror-themed walking simulators are your preferred brand, this shouldn’t be a game you miss. Otherwise, a Steam sale sometime this year will likely feature this game at a nice discount.
A sequel would do wonders for Tokyo Mirage Sessions. It would be fun if ATLUS took it in a similar route to that of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. Without diving into any spoilers, we could see Fortuna Entertainment years down the road with a new cast of playable characters as the Mirages are breaking into our world once again, and throughout the story, we could run into many of the previous playable characters from this game and have them join our party as cameo members for an Idolasphere dungeon or something. Sound too good to be true? It probably is, and my biggest fear is this is a one and done series. But I hope not. There’s so much to love here, and even though it’s a few years old and doesn’t look nearly as modern as some of the other games coming out in 2020, it’s still one of the best JRPG experiences you can find on the Nintendo Switch.
The Pedestrian is a rewarding puzzle game with well-made brain busters that challenge the likes of Portal. This was originally a Kickstarter campaign, so if you’ve made the initial $15 investment to back the game, you should know that your money was well-spent. If you’re looking to pick this up on Steam, $20 is an appropriate price. The only barrier to being worth much more is the overall short length of the game. In case it’s unclear, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of The Pedestrian.
Journey to the Savage Planet lets you embrace the unknown of an environment while providing the tools and utilities needed to allow for a sense of freedom many games can only attempt to achieve.
Shenmue III is a lifelong dream come true for fans of the franchise, but anyone else may get turned off by its authentic late-90's game design.
While I cannot compare to previous entries in the MechWarrior series, I have to wonder if this is a giant leap forward for the franchise, or more like a lateral move. It has some fun moments, but these are quick-lived and generally get overshadowed by some of the more glaring issues present in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries. Newcomers to the franchise may have a hard time digesting this as I did, but fans clamoring for more Mech goodness will likely find a lot to enjoy in Piranha Games’ latest outing.